NOW Fights for the Last Remaining Symbol of Reproductive Freedom for Women in Jackson, Mississippi

July 14, 2006

This week, women and men in Jackson, Mississippi, are organizing to support the lone remaining clinic in the state that provides the full range of reproductive services to women, including abortion. NOW's local leaders are working with activists from across the state and throughout the area to coordinate Reproductive Freedom Summer 2006.

Their goal is to call attention to the fact that women in Mississippi are denied easy access to legal medical procedures and denied the freedom to make private decisions about their reproductive health.

"Having only one clinic in the state that provides abortions is a tremendous burden for women who are making important, and very personal, decisions about when and whether to expand their families," said Kim Gandy, President of the National Organization for Women, who will speak at the Saturday rally in Jackson. "This clinic provides critical services for women in Jackson and those who must travel long distances across the state to obtain services. We are determined that it will remain open," said Gandy.

Background Information:

Operation "Save America" (formerly Operation Rescue), tells its supporters that they must come to Jackson to conduct a siege of the last remaining abortion clinic in Mississippi. Their goal is to close the Jackson clinic, thereby ending reproductive freedom for women in the state of Mississippi, and getting closer to their ultimate goal of ending reproductive freedom for all women. Philip L. (Flip) Benham and his followers use tactics of fear, intimidation and physical blockades in attempts to prevent access to clinic entrances, shouting and condemning women who visit the clinic for a wide range of services. Their efforts serve only to cause difficulties for local safety officials who must remain on guard to protect against the violent actions that have been a hallmark of Operation Rescue, harming patients, doctors, and staff at clinics across the United States.

Reproductive Freedom Summer organizers will focus their activities on the status of women and children through organizing events that showcase the fact that the real problem facing women in Mississippi is the lack of economic resources to take care of their families and the lack of reproductive healthcare including access to birth control and emergency contraception. According to the Children's Partnership, Mississippi ranks 7th in the percentage of children living in poverty: 23% of the state's 757,000 children live in poverty. An astounding 41% of Mississippi's children live with parents who do not have full-time, year-round employment (the national average is 33%).

While Mississippi ranks 3rd in the nation in meeting existing needs for subsidized contraceptive services and supplies, it ranks 42nd in the laws and policies that are likely to facilitate access to those same contraceptive services and information according to the Guttmacher Institute.

"Women and children living in Mississippi deserve to have their leaders' energy focused on solving the economic situation that keeps many families living in poverty and Operation Save America certainly has no intention of helping the women and children in Mississippi find good jobs, adequate food resources, and basic healthcare," says Gandy.

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For Immediate Release
Contact: Mai Shiozaki, 202-628-8669, ext. 116; cell 202-641-1906

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